Jufer arraigned, sent to prison

Robert Jufer, 71, was arraigned on Thursday at the Wayne County Courthouse for one count of criminal homicide where he allegedly murdered his wife June on Oct. 17, 2010. On Wednesday District Attorney Janine Edwards and the Pennsylvania State Police announced the charging and arrest of Jufer.

—Robert Jufer, 71, was arraigned on Thursday at the Wayne County Courthouse for one count of criminal homicide where he allegedly murdered his wife June on Oct. 17, 2010. On Wednesday District Attorney Janine Edwards and the Pennsylvania State Police announced the charging and arrest of Jufer.

Judge Ted Mikulak was the presiding judge. Jufer was given no bail since it was a murder and he will be incarcerated at the Wayne County Prison.

"I was wrongfully accused," Jufer told members of the media as he was escorted into the courthouse by State Police. "I have my suspicions of who killed my wife."

He is sticking with his story that he returned home from the storeand was attacked in his house, rendered unconscious and that when he regained consciousness he went to his neighbor's home.

Responding troopers discovered the body of June Jufer, deceased, in her bed.

An autopsy of June Jufer was performed on Oct. 18, 2010 and the cause of death was a shotgun wound to the head and manner of death was ruled homicide. A shotgun was located on the floor near the victim.

Subsequent interviews were conducted with Jufer in which he gave conflicting reports of the attack. Additionally, his lack of injury to his neck coupled with

physical evidence at the scene did not match the events as he reported them.

He went so far as to say he used the murder weapon earlier that morning to "look for a muskrat" near the residence and returned to the home where he placed it on the kitchen table before going to Wal-Mart.

He admitted that he did not look for his wife or arm himself with a weapon before fleeing the residence after the alleged attack.

A search of the Jufer residence revealed 108 rifles, shotguns and handguns in the home. The weapon located in June Jufer's bedroom, which was the weapon that killed her, was owned by Robert Jufer.

Jufer was located at his other home in Hastings on the Hudson, Westchester County, New York on Wednesday, and the arrest warrant was served by PSP and Hastings on the Hudson law enforcement.

He was taken into custody without incident. He appeared before a Westchester County City Court judge for an extradition hearing before coming back to Pennsylvania on Thursday.

"I'd like to thank the officers for their diligence and hard work in this case," said Edwards. "The police did everything I asked of them. It's because of their hard work in the twelve months I've been here, that we were able to get a criminal complaint."

She said that Jufer changed his story, first saying that he was bagged then rendered unconscious, then saying he was choked by a rope.

Page 2 of 2 - "This was a brutal assassination of a helpless woman," said Edwards. "Jufer's story doesn't fit with the evidence we have. It won't be believed by us, and if it comes to a jury, they won't believe it either. I'm not sure what his motivation was, but this was a staged crime scene. I'm confident this is the right charge for the right person."

The Jufers had four children together.

The next court action will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. at the Wayne County Courthouse. It will be in central court.